Almost Doesn't Count
by MsFlapsAlot
Summary: So we know about (mostly) everyone in 2020, but what came next? Sure, it seems like everyone got their 'dreams fulfilled' in the end, but Sam is left wanting and Mercedes still wonders when that 'someday' will come. Their story is almost complete, but almost doesn't count.


Disclaimer - The story is mine, the characters, not so much.

 **Almost Doesn't Count**

 **2020**

Sam calls Rachel to congratulate her for her tony award.

She says that she owes him special thanks as well for helping heal her heart after Finn died.

"I know what you're thinking. But it was good, good for both of us, Rachel."

Automatically, she asks, "Have you heard from Mercedes recently?"

Sam closes his eyes, and sighs deeply. This was Rachel's night, but neither of them can help but think about Mercedes. The three will always be linked. The cosmos used her to bring Sam and Mercedes together with the prom-on-a-budget. The bolo tie, the Robot, and that magical walk home were inevitable.

"She's doing great. Ummm, we text sometimes, but she's so busy right now with her first album, and, you know, her engagement."

"Sor-Are you okay?"

"I am. Thanks for asking." After a polite pause, he says, "I should let you get back to celebrating."

As she ends the call, Rachel smiles a smile that was for Sam alone.

 **2025**

The running joke of the night was that Mercedes Jones should have just stayed on stage, since she practically won all the [Grammy] awards. Mercedes' sophomore album garnered so many awards that she needed help carrying them.

…

Under an umbrella held by one of the many people she seemed to have about her all of the time now, just steps from the Clive Davis after party, Mercedes hears a voice she hasn't heard in a very long time.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Mercedes Jones."

"Sam! What are you doing here?" Forgetting her hair, her dress, and even dumping her Grammy's into the arms of another of those 'people', Mercedes rushes over to Sam to give him a hug that says it's been a long time. Too long. Besides, what's a little bit of rain between two old friends?

He whispers in her ear, "I wanted to see you _own_ the Grammy's."

Pulling back, she asks, "How? How did you get here?"

"My pick-up truck, and you'd be surprised how easy it is to get a job filling seats. All you need is a tux and good looks...or just a tux."

Mercedes blinks as a very light mist begins to soak her lashes, and cause her face to glisten. Still she wonders aloud, "What are you doing here…"

"What am I doing here?" He lets out a full bellied laugh. "Oh my god, how many times have you said that to me when I've shown up out of the blue, ready to sweep you off your feet?" He bites the edge of his bottom lip, giving her a chance to remember just the kind of guy he is.

He's the kind of guy who could _fall_ in lov _e_ every time, but never _actually_ love the other person he's with until he finds the right one. (He found her). He's a hopeless romantic who loves the idea of true love.

He takes a knee, "Since you still have to ask, I guess that means that I still have to ask, right?" Mercedes' brain is still flipping out over the fact that Sam's there, it still for sure hasn't caught up to the, Sam's there and _on bended knee_. "Mercedes Jones, will you finally agree to make me the happiest man...like, ever?"

Mercedes is mumbling. Sam thinks it's because the stone is so small. "I'm sorry, I mean, I bought this one with my first modeling paycheck. I can afford a better one now."

"No, it's I'm just-ww-wait. You've had this ring for 10 years?"

"Yes, I told you then that I wanted to marry you. I told you even back when you were still with Shane. You remember that day, when I reminded you of how much you meant to me, and you smiled that tilt-a-whirl smile."

…

 **You can't spell rainbow without rain**

Sam could only get one more day off from work before finishing out the summer. They both knew there were some light showers expected, but it was their only day before the carnival moved to another town. Things started off okay, and then got horrible. All Mercedes could think was, _'Light showers my ass'_. Sam had willingly given up his umbrella and raincoat to keep his lady relatively dry, but by mid-morning Mercedes had had her fill of crazed carnies, stupid, impossible rigged games, greasy food, rude people, muddy fields, and rain, did I mention the rain? And let's not forget about the stares from those thirsty girls who thought that he could do better. Sam was all wet and getting ogled.

Green eyes filled with a mysterious twinkle, Sam convinced Mercedes to go on one more ride, the tilt-a-whirl. He jumps into a separate car from her. "Sam what are you doing? I don't want to ride by myself."

"Just trust me. We can ride together on the next go round, but I want you to see something special." The gears start to hum, and their seats start to spin like plates on a pole. Sam shouts, "Do you see it?!"

"Oh my gosh Sam! You're at the end of a rainbow... And now it's gone."

"Well now you're at the end of a rainbow."

"Wha-How is this even possible?"

Sam waited until their second ride, in the same seat, to tell her. "Well, I'll never see the end of my rainbow, and you'll never see the end of yours, but we were just far enough away from each other for you to see the one around me, and for me to see one around you."

Totally not shocked, she asks, "How did you figure this out?"

"Stevie, Stacy, and I discovered this little trick about a month back. We were running in the soccer field, just kicking the ball around, and Stevie had to chase down a long shot. Stacy told him that he was in a rainbow. I couldn't see his, but I could see Stacy's. Then we spent the rest of the time trying to find more rainbows." In his Sean Connery voice, he says, "Not gonna lie though, th's me first time findin' me pot-o-gold." In his regular voice, he says, "Except to me, you're worth so much more than gold."

…

The sound of her own laughter brings her back to the present. She looks down at Sam as he says, "Mercedes, I want to marry you. I've pretty much always wanted to marry you. And all those times I brought it up, I meant it for real; not because the world was ending."

Smirking, she says, "MmmmHmmm, two blondes don't make a right!"

"Gotta agree with you there. But I loved Brittany, still do."

"I know. I know you still love each and every one of them."

"But only one of them stayed in here." He points a finger at his chest. "In truth, my world ended each and every time you had to go."

"And that's exactly why I still can't believe that you waited for me."

He tries to shake the hair out of his eyes, but it's too damp from the light rain. Without being asked, Mercedes takes her fingers and tucks the long lock behind his ear. "I told you I would. Every time I got together with someone and things got even a little bit serious, I had to break it off. I have been carrying that ring around in my wallet for 10 years. Didn't matter who my girlfriend was at the time, I could never see me putting this on anyone's finger but yours."

"H-how come you didn't move one when I got engaged to Miguel?"

"I—I'm not sure how to answer that. I don't know why. All I know is that I wanted you to be happy in love, but I wanted you to be your happiest in love. Do you get what I mean? I know Miguel made you happy, but I could never get myself to stop thinking that I could give you more." He pauses, unsure of what to say next. He ends up saying, "I don't know if I'm doing a good job explaining myself. I was happy for you and unhappy for you all at the same time, when you were with Miguel, and when you guys broke up. But I don't mean that I celebrated in your pain." Mercedes nods her head. She gets it. "It makes me sick that he broke your heart, but at the same time it gave me hope."

"Sam, that was over two years ago. I'm surprised you waited this long. But in a way, I'm really glad that you did. Rebound relationships…"

"Trust me, I know, and I knew you'd need time to deal with it. Me being there wouldn't have made you feel any less about your break-up. It just didn't seem right to fly in and try to save the day. "

Looking down, her face carrying a shadow of remembered sadness, she says, "Miguel…I honestly thought that—"

In the gentlest way possible, Sam cuts her off, "Baby, don't. Just say yes."

"Oh, oh my goodness. Sorr—I mean YES! YES! YES! A million times YES." Neither of them can hear the applause from the gathered crowd.

Sam finally gets up off of his knees and wraps Mercedes in a bone crushing hug, lifting her off of the ground as he spins in endless circles. When he finally puts her down he says, "Even though Miguel wasn't the right guy for you, I still envy the bastard."

"Envy?" She could only think of one thing. "Be-because I—"

Cutting her off again, he says tenderly, "Shhhh, you were always so much more than that, and if he was too stupid to see it, let that be on him." He continues by saying, "Envy, because you wrote epic, award-winning love songs about that d-bag. You, I am Mercedes Jones, I belong in the same category as Aretha, Adele, Celine, and Whitney, and I am here to stay, wrote an album that took everyone on the 'SAME' journey. You touched hearts around the world with all of those S _ongs About Mercy Eternal_. So, hell yeah, I'm jealous."

That journey, her journey, her rollercoaster of love. It was the same ride that just about anyone could relate to. One that told of love, loss, forgiveness, pain, and hope.

After he was done talking about how each and every single track spoke to his heart, Mercedes can't help but shake her head and laugh. "I cannot believe that Brittany was the only one who got it. The day that album dropped, she sent me a text. 'I see what you did there'. That girl is all kinds of smart, even if none of them are in the classic sense of the word."

"S _ongs About Mercy Eternal_ wasn't about how everyone has at one time or another been on the 'SAME' journey to find love. It was all about the journey I took to find love with you, Sam E. That's why they all spoke to you, because every single song was for you." She entwines her fingers with his. "After my engagement ended, I went back to the beginning of it all. The beginning of what I am today. Back to the man who, with an outstretched hand and sixteen precious words, changed my world." She gives him a small kiss. "To the man, who with three little words, changed my everything." And another small kiss. "I went back to you." She places yet another small kiss on his lips. "I went and dug out all of the memories I collected since that first prom." Closing her eyes to another wave of remembered sadness, she says quietly, "Back to that time when I was lonely, bitter, and crying into a plate of tots. I went back to all of the songs I'd written about my first love, the one who told me first." She opens her eyes and smiles. "I went back through everything that I'd felt, everything that I'd poured out onto notebook page after notebook page. I went through the surprise, the hope, the astonishment, the joy, the love, the understanding, the loss, the heartache; and back again. That journey was our journey, baby."

Sam is floored by the admission. "You were always there, just like you are now, having already forgiven me for leaving you for all these years. Too many years."

Sam thinks that there's nothing to forgive. The more and more he thinks about what she's saying, the wider and wider his smile grows. Pulling her in close, he says, "Mercedes, I have, and will always, love you. It was never about mercy or forgiveness. It was nothing to come back to you, each and every time. It was nothing to fight for you. It was human-nature for me to be with you. No matter how hard I tried, which honestly wasn't very hard, I could never see my life without you in it." He let go of that last little bit of fear that he'd carried with him on his drive up from Lima. That nagging thread that told him that he'd have to go back and wait some more or, that he'd waited too long. "My little songbird, you did what I wanted you to do, which was everything you needed to do to become the woman standing before me. You flew. You flew so high, so far, so wide, but baby, I never lost you. Not once." He can tell by the look in her eyes that he'd had nothing to fear. "And deep down, you knew it too." He brushes his lips across her knuckles. Smiling, he says, "I don't have an entire album, but I do have one very special song, written just for you."

 _Look around; There's no one but you and me; Right here and now; The way it was meant to be; There's a smile on my face; Knowing that together everything that's in our way; We're better than alright..._

She melts a little, standing there in his arms, being the recipient of another beautiful Evans' serenade.

 _Walking between the raindrops; Riding the aftershock beside you; Off into the sunset; Living like there's nothing left to lose; Chasing after gold mines; Crossing the fine lines we knew; Hold on and take a breath; I'll be here every step; Walking between the raindrops with you_

She broke his heart each time he had to let her go. Hurt to the point where he had to go and find her, just to be near her even if he couldn't really be with her the way he wanted to be with her. He was young, loved to be in love, and he held on to it each and every time he could. But his love for Mercedes always held true. Over the years he thought he could fill the space she left with some other lover. Truth was she never left.

 _Take me now; The world's such a crazy place; When the walls come down; You'll know I'm here to stay; There's nothing I would change…_

While Sam's singing she thinks about the truth in his words, about how he too, never really left.

Mercedes met and loved Sam when she needed it the most. She loved him, and loved him hard. He made it so that she never had to question whether or not he felt the same way. She broke it off when he had to go to Tennessee, to make it easier on the both of them, but he could see through her brave front even then. She knew that he didn't have the heart to do it.

Being with Shane helped her see that she wasn't broken beyond repair without Sam. She hadn't meant to hurt Shane's heart, but…just looking at Sam made all of the memories they'd formed come back. Little by little she was falling back in love with him. Little by little she had fallen out of love with Shane. She loved Sam, even back then there was never enough room in her heart for anyone else.

She broke it off because she had to graduate and had to leave Sam behind. Despite his hardships, he still had a lot of growing up to do. Those were waters that he had to navigate alone. But even through those stormy seas, his compass led him right back to her.

She broke it off in NYC because she didn't want him to wait around. He deserved someone willing to give him what he wanted and wanted to give. He already had what he wanted, with or without the sex; she just didn't want to hear it. Ignoring the truth made it easier for her to start walking down her own path. She couldn't keep dragging him around with her. Smiling, she knows it was never really like that; you can't drag the willing.

Sam was the guy you wanted when you felt like your world was ending. He was there for her, he was there for Brittany, and he gave Rachel what she needed. Being with Sam meant that you got to glimpse your true heart. Even if you didn't initially like what you saw (like Santana), you knew that you'd be okay, all because he believed it.

 _There's a smile on my face; Knowing that together everything that's in our way; We're better than alright_

Their heartstrings could never be broken. He could have never ended up with anyone else other than this vision of beauty standing before him now. She told him 'someday' while she put on another brave face, and left that auditorium. She left him hope, and apparently he never lost a drop of it up. He never stopped fighting for her. Instead, just like every time before, he waited. But, unlike all of the other times, he was patient. This isn't McKinley high; he's not trying to win her back from the star footballer. This isn't New York; he's grown up. This is Sam, the boy who waited; he's here to speak his truth, his heart, to his Mercedes.

 _Walking between the raindrops; Riding the aftershock beside you; Off into the sunset; Living like there's nothing left to lose; chasing after gold mines; Crossing the fine lines we knew; Hold on and take a breath; I'll be here every step; Walking between the raindrops with you...Between the raindrops with you_

Just like before he was ready for the rain. Just like before he gave her the umbrella, and just like before he was all wet and getting ogled.

There are so many paparazzi flashbulbs going off while they kiss, that it's as if they are surrounded by strobe lights, giving them a slow motion effect (without the hallway).

… **.A right and proper ending...**

I write Samcedes fluff when I get sad. Sam's song was 'Between the Raindrops' by Lifehouse

Thanks for reading


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